Safety belt



Nov. 6, 1951 F. HALLER 2,574,178

SAFETY BELT Filed Nov. 12, 1949 2 Sl-IEETSSHEET 1 INVENTOR. FRANK HAL-LER Nov. 6, 1951 F. HALLER 2,574,178

SAFETY BELT Filed Nov. 12, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR.

FRANK HALLER Patented Nov. 6, 1951 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

2,574,178 SAFETY BELT Frank Haller, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 12, 1949, SerialNo. 126,736 Claims. (01. 227-49) This invention relates generally to safety belts and pertains. more. particularly to new and useful improvements. in safety belts. of the type used by window washers and other persons. in similar hazardous. occupations;

. Itis of the. utmost importance to persons utilizing safety devices. of the above. mentioned type that. said devices, in addition to being reliable, be. so constructed. as not to restrain. the normal movements related to their work, and also be of such a construction as not. to be annoying whenin position on the wearers body while not in actual use.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide in a safety belt having components adapted to fit a wearers legs in. addition to the. waist and yet not interfere with normal body movements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a safety belt having means for permitting a wearer to freely move all parts of the body without in any way making the wearer feel uncomfortable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a safety belt including means for caus- 1 ing the leg engaging members to be automatically retracted when not in use to thereby move them out of the way.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a secure and reliable attachment for a belt to a body encircling girth.

Another object of the present invention is. to provide. in a safety belt having a girth and. means. for attaching latch or terminal hooks. carried. on the ends of a belt to the said girth, so that the free. ends of the belt will not dangle freely and annoyingly along the sides of the wearer.

Still another object of the present invention is. to provide a safety belt which provides the utmost in reliability to a wearer and. in no way hampers his eificiency.

For further comprehension of the invention,

and of the objects and advantages thereof, ref-.

erence will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel featuresof the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming amaterial part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the. safety belt constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial rear elevational view showing the attachment of the belt to the girth.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of' the lower portion of the safety belt looking toward the left side of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary isometric view illustrating the latch hook studs carried on thegirth. Fig. 5 is an isometric view illustrating the: type of slide buckle preferably used for fastening the shoulder braces.

Fig. 6. is an. isometric view illustrating the. con: struction of the buckle side of the girth buckling meansv Fig; 7 is. a fragmentary section taken along. the line If-l in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a partial elevational view illustrating a modification of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an exploded isometric view illustrating the constructing of the modification shown in Fig. 8'.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. '7 showing an other modified form of the invention.

The. safety belt, according to the first form of the present invention shown in Figs. 1 to '7, includes an open body encircling member or girth [0 which may be of any suitable material, but in view of its toughness and pliability, is preferably made of a heavy canvas. Extending across the rear portion of the girth l0 and secured thereto, as by heavy stitching or riveting, is a leather plate ll. Secured to said plate II by rivets which also pass through the said girth H) are the rear extensions I2 of a pair of shoulder braces [3. Front extensions M of the braces I3 are adapted to cooperate with slide buckles l5 suitably fastened adjacent the front ends of the girth l0. Said slide buckles are of the well known type shown in detail in Fig. 5 and permit said braces to be adjusted to raise or lower the girth to any comfortable position on the wearer. Secured to one end of the open girth I 0, as by riveting, is a leather belt flap IB which is adapted to cooperate with a buckle I9 carried on a leather buckle strap 20 secured, as by riveting also, to the other end of the girth. As best seen in Fig. 6, the construction of the buckle strap 20 is such as to include between leather a metal reinforcing strip 2| for insuring the secureness of attachment of the strap 20' to the girth l0. Leather pieces 22 folded and having theends of the girth lll' sewn therebetween. are provided for preventing the fraying and unravelling of the ends of the girth Ill. 'The arrangement: described to this point permits the mentioned girth ID to be fastened about a wearers body at a. comfortable position and theremaintained.

Fixedly attached to the leather plate [I there is a pair of spaced metal bridge members 25 which are of such configuration as to permit the slidable passage therethrough of a belt 26. Said belt 26 is fitted at each end thereof with a termi-- nal hook. 21' which is similar to the type presently used in most window washers safety devices and whichiits safety studs. provided in window casements.

Hook studs :28 (Figs. 1, 3' and 4)., very much similarto the mentioned window safety studs, are fixedly mounted on the girth It at. dispositions adjacent the ends thereof. By this arrangement:

the hooks 21 when not in use are. engaged with the studs so that free ends of the belt 26 will depend at the sides of the wearer without being annoying in .the wearer's work or walking. 1

Now, with reference to both Fig. 3 and Fig. 7, it will be seen that attached by long rivets 29 to each side of said girth l there is a stationary link 30, which link is interposed between leather strips 3| preformed and sewn together so as to cover said link. Spacers 32 on the upper rivetsv 0nd link 35 and spaced therefrom by a washer 31 is a third link 38 also covered by leather strips 3|. Said third link is provided at its lower end with a pivotally attached leg strap 40 having a suitable buckle 4|. This arrangement is such that the leg-strap 40 on each side of the girth l0 may be buckled about the wearers thighs and the wearer, in view of the hinged connections between said leg straps and said girth, has complete freedom of bodily movement at the hips without annoyance or any uncomfortable feeling from the safety belt parts.

In a modification of the present invention, shown in Figs. 8 and 9, springs 42 are carried on the pivotal connections between the first link 30 and the second link 35, and between the second link 35 and the third link 38, and are adapted to cooperate with their related links. As in the first modification, the third link 38 is provided with a. leg strap 40 pivotally attached thereto. Fig. 8 shows the links 30, 35 and 38 in the positions to which they are normally biased by the springs 42 when the straps 40 are not attached to 'a wearer's legs. However, when the leg straps 40 are attached to the wearers leg said springs 42 are stretched, as seen in Fig. 9, and aid in maintaining the snug fit of said leg straps. Also, when the straps are released from the wearers legs the springs 42 retract the hinged links and raise said straps to out of the way positions at the sides of the girth Hi. In place of the springs 42, suitable washers may also be used.

In Fig. 10, the stationary link 30 is shown to be attached to the side of the girth l0 at the is shown to be spaced by spacers 32 and 32, respectively. The lower end of the stationary link 30' has an intermediate outwardly bent portion 30* and a lower downwardly bent portion 30 to space this lower end portion 30 of the link 30 from the belt and from the trousers of the wearer, to provide free access to the trouser pocket. Theupper end of link 35' is connected to the lower end 30 of the link 30' by a suitable bolt 23 with a spacing washer 31. In other respects this form of the invention is similar to the previous form of the invention and the corresponding parts may be recognized by similar reference numerals with a prime added.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a safety belt having a girth and leg straps fastenable about a wearer's thighs, a hinged connection between each side of the girth and each of the leg straps comprising a first link stationarily secured to the girth, a second link pivotally connected at one end to said first link, and a third link pivotally connected to the other end of said second link and carrying the leg strap.

2. In a safety belt having a girth and leg straps fastenable about a wearer's thighs, a padded hinged connection between each side of the girth and each of the leg straps, comprising a leather-covered link stationarily secured to the girth, a second leather-covered link pivotally connected at one end thereof to the first mentioned link, and a third leather-covered link pivotally connected to the other end of the second mentioned link and having the leg strap pivotally attached thereto.

7 3. In a safety belt of the class described having a body encircling member and a pair of leg encircling straps, a resilient hinged connection between the sides of said member and the respective leg encircling strap, comprising a link secured stationarily to each side of the body member, a second link pivotally connected at one end thereof to each of the first mentioned links, means biasing said second links toward said first links, a third link pivotally connected to the other end of each of said second links, and means biasing said third links toward said second links, each of said third links having one of the leg straps pivotally secured to the free end thereof.

4. In a safety belt of the class described having a body encircling member, a first leather-covered link secured stationarily to the body member, a second leather-coveredlink pivotally connected at one end thereof to the'first link, a spring cooperatively connecting said first and second links and normally biasing them to a juxtaposed relation,.a third leather-covered link pivotally connected to the other end of said second link, a spring cooperatively connecting said third and second links and normally biasing them to a juxtaposed relation, a leg strap pivotally attached to said third link, said links being extended when said strap is attached to a wearer's leg and said springs being effective when said strap is detached top and intermediate portions by rivets and from a wearers leg for retracting said links.

5. In a safety belt having a girth and leg straps fastenable about a wearers thighs, a hinged connection between each side of the girth and each of the leg straps comprising a first link stationarily secured to the girth, a second link pivotally connected at one end to said first link, and a third link pivotally connected to the other end of said second link and carrying the leg strap, the lower end of said stationary link being bent to form an offset so as to space the said second and third links from the leg of the wearer.

FRANK HALLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

